A Summary of The President’s Task Force on 21st-Century Policing
In 2014, President Obama formed the President’s Task Force on 21st-century policing. The task force was assigned to identify and recommend the most appropriate policing practices that can enhance public trust and reduce crime. The President was prompted to act by the increasing rifts between law enforcement officers and the public. The task force issued its recommendations in May 2015, following several meetings with the community and other relevant stakeholders (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015).
The document released has six important pillars with action items and recommendations. Among the pillars addressed by the task force is building trust and legitimacy. Individuals are more likely to observe the law when enforcers have legitimate authority to guide them on adopting the right behavior. Therefore, the main purpose of the task force was to determine the most effective policing practices.
The Pillar: Building Trust and Legitimacy
Building trust and legitimacy is the pillar of the President’s task force and the foundational principle underlying the inquest on the nature of the relationship between law enforcers and the community. According to the task force, although policing has become more organized and equipped to deal with crime since 1990, public confidence in law enforcers has remained the same (President’s Task Force [PTF), 2015). The main problem is that the confidence level of the police has declined among people of color. There have been claims that the poor and non-whites have experienced the greatest impact of mass incarceration (President’s Task Force [PTF), 2015). For example, people of color are likely to be arrested more often because they experience greater poverty. The police have lost public trust and legitimacy due to increased discriminative practices.
The task force found that people are likely to obey the law when police have legitimate authority. The public gives legitimacy to individuals who follow the rules and act without bias. A person is considered to act justly when they treat people with dignity, are neutral and transparent, portray trustworthy motives, and ensure everyone’s voice is heard during an encounter (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). These principles promote positive relationships where people trust that police officers are honest, fair, kind, and adhere to the law. The community is likely to feel it has to follow the law and the orders of legal authorities. As a result, the task force revealed that the police should focus on finding legitimacy by adopting principles that make them appear to the public as someone who follows the law.
During the sessions, the task force engaged with different people to find a solution to the issue. The first people who gave testimony about the first pillar said that there needs to be a change in how police do their jobs (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). They talked about the use of demeaning language and the unconscious biases that make police officers focus on race. The task force has addressed how important it is to deploy police officers who understand the people they serve instead of focusing on the different lines of authority. Law enforcers who stay in the areas they practice are more likely to handle the people well. Different speakers emphasized the need for ongoing civilian oversight and called for more research to show the most effective manner in which it might be implemented.
Action Items
The US Department of Justice should make and share case scenarios that offer examples where law enforcement agencies publicly acknowledged previous injustices to build community trust. Despite the police being known as people who oppress the poor and minority groups in the US, there are instances where law enforcers have acted without bias to serve the community (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). Based on this, there is a need to develop resources such as case studies with known examples where the police recognized the injustices to enhance the trust between law enforcers and the public. Thus, the main purpose of these materials is to portray the police as the friends of the people and have engaged in practices that promote peace without bias, and misconduct has been recognized.
The second action is to make police work more open and honest. To achieve this, law enforcement agencies must ensure that the public can read their policies and conduct rules. They should frequently post data about stops, indictments, detainments, crimes disclosed, and other law enforcement information, grouped by demographics, on the agency’s website (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). A culture of openness and honesty develops a pattern of understanding and behavior that helps officers major in promoting justice during their undertaking in the community. A positive culture is likely to promote good behavior, while a negative culture results in poor habits. Therefore, a culture of transparency is an important item because it helps in the development of good behaviors among law enforcers.
The third action item addressed in the pillar is engaging with the public, and media misconduct among law enforcers is reported. The task force states that “When serious incidents occur, including those involving alleged police misconduct, agencies should communicate with citizens and the media swiftly, openly, and neutrally, respecting areas where the law requires confidentiality” (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015, p.13).
However, the engagement and sharing of information should respect areas where the law mandates secrecy. It is possible to encourage neutrality by ensuring that organizations and the people who work for them do not disclose any background information regarding the parties involved. Thus, even though much information is frequently accessible to the public, law enforcement agencies should focus on delivering accurate and verifiable information.
Recommendations
As law enforcers monitor the changes in crime, they should keep track of the extent of trust from the public. According to the President’s Task Force (PTF, 2015, p.16), “Annual community surveys, ideally standardized across jurisdictions and with accepted sampling protocols, can measure how policing in that community affects public trust.” This suggestion provides the guideline that can be used to increase public trust.
The public must be able to independently check the information they are given about a product or service, as well as the identity of those accountable for the products or service’s quality and the measures that will be taken to address any issues before trust in institutions can be earned. Maintaining the public’s trust requires law enforcement agencies to have an accountability system that is both open and trustworthy if they are to continue to function efficiently.
Law enforcement agencies should make their staff as diverse as possible in race, gender, language, life experience, and cultural background. This will help them understand and assist everyone in the communities better (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). Many agencies have known for a long time how important it is to hire police officers who look like the people they serve and who are very good at procedural justice. Getting a diverse group of people for entry-level jobs is important. However, the ultimate goal is to get a diverse group of people in every aspect of the department. It is important to know that diversity goes beyond race and gender to include differences in identity, experiences, and backgrounds. This has been proven to help enhance the culture of police agencies and gain more trust and legitimacy in the community.
The concepts of procedural justice should be used internally within law enforcement agencies to foster a culture of legitimacy within the institution. A positive relationship can be attained between the interactions of officers with citizens and the organizational culture that is developed when employees engage with leaders (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). When a department establishes a culture that favors internal procedural justice, its officers are more likely to display external procedural justice in their client interactions. People are more inclined to follow instructions given by management when they perceive that management possesses legitimate authority. As a result, individuals are prone to comply with law enforcement when they believe that officers possess legitimate authority.
There is a positive relationship between a sense of legitimacy and public trust in law enforcers. The problems that have played a large role in the decline of public trust in the police force should be the primary focus of efforts to restore the public’s faith in the police, although there are many different approaches (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). One of the most significant problems is the absence of accountability and openness, followed by racial discrimination, and police violence. The task force suggested the need to build trust and legitimacy to address the mistrust and negative perception of the people, especially from disadvantaged households and minority groups (President’s Task Force [PTF], 2015). Therefore, it is necessary to take a comprehensive strategy by implementing all of the techniques that can increase trust and a sense of legitimacy.
Reference
President’s Task Force. (2015). Final report of the President’s task force on 21st century policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Web.